Transgender student's suit against school district advances

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A federal judge has declined to dismiss a transgender student's lawsuit against a Wisconsin school district over its bathroom-use rules.

U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper rejected a request from the Kenosha school district to dismiss the suit Monday. The Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2cMbyUa ) reports Pepper found the student had alleged enough facts to support a plausible violation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as the Constitution's equal protection guarantees.

The district argued the term "sex" under Title IX did not cover a transgender student.

Ashton Whitaker, a student at Tremper High School, was designated a girl on his birth certificate but began identifying as a boy in middle school. Whitaker sued in July, claiming the district's ban on his using the boys' restroom was discriminatory.